Paul Daley not retiring, but refuses to fight in the United States again

Bellator welterweight Paul Daley is not retiring, but in a new social media post he says he will not fight in the United States again.

Check out what Paul Daley said below on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4QC5dJJ9k4/?igshid=19azqnl2a2hx3

“So I just want to thank all of the U.S. fans that have supported me throughout my career. Loved and hated me, I thank you the same. Bellator 232 was my final fight in the U.S.A. I will be fighting again, I’m not retiring, but it will be on U.K. shores. Thank you all in the U.S. Thank you.”

Daley, who is nicknamed “Semtex” for his dynamite left hook, is one of the top welterweight contenders in Bellator right now. He is coming off of a huge knockout win over Saad Awad at Bellator 232, the same card that Douglas Lima defeated Rory MacDonald to win the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix.

However, Daley was not granted a title shot by Bellator president Scott Coker despite the win over Awad. Instead, Coker said that Lorenz Larkin is likely next in line to fight Lima as long as Larkin wins his next fight at Bellator Japan.

The timing of Daley’s message is curious, and it’s unclear what led Daley to issuing this statement. It’s not known if Daley won’t fight in Bellator again because he hasn’t been given the next title shot, but it’s possible that played a part in it.

With Bellator doing a number of cards in Europe, Daley will still be able to keep busy and get plenty of fights, including a possible rematch against Michael Page. He’s still one of the top-ranked welterweights in Bellator.

However, if Bellator 232 was indeed the last time that Daley fights in the U.S., then it doesn’t make sense for the promotion to give him a title shot. At this point, it looks like the 36-year-old Brit is all about just having fun fights closer to home.